Virginia on my mind

Wait.. that's not how the song goes? I'm sure Ray will forgive me.

Today I got to visit one of my many second families--the Burgesses!! Then why the picture of Allyson? Slightly stream of consciousness, but here I go:

Last year about this time was Powderburn. Right before, Allyson had come to visit, and I shamefully didn't write much about it. That was a wonderful time, and the picture is meant to psuedo make up for it. But partially it's up because I love that woman! Then right after Powderburn (which I did write about), the Burgesses were chilling in Keystone, so I went up for an evening to share a meal with them.

The tradition continues! The whole family, of whom there is a picture of them found here, was there, as well as some others that I had met last year and some new faces (Remember? "Make the circle bigger."). We enjoyed spaghetti, and I had a wonderful conversation with Brenda about life this past year. We also talked about books; I believe I've added about four more to my list for this year. Seriously, I have such a great time with these folks, even when they're all worn out from snowboarding for the day!

Preparing to go see them, I could not help but think of some other grand Virginia moments. Moments like Sarah Mims, Katelyn Newell and Elizabeth Milton piled into my yellow truck, named Adelaide, jamming to Relient K and Anberlin. Going to putt-putt. And then showing all three of them the glories of the driving range. We had even made a bet about who could hit the guy in the caged truck the most.

Or there was Five Guys... mouth watering.. with Laura Skove after she had returned from a trip to Africa. We had some great conversations for sure. It was cool to find out tonight that she's now looking into serving inner-city kids!

And don't forget Busch Gardens and riding The Griffon over and over and over! I could never forget Brogan either, or her brother and his crazy questions during my third trip to Busch Gardens that summer. And there was English, which the name itself suffices to bring coolness to a kid. At least in my opinion.

Que mas? Ha! All of the middle school retreat. It was there, after an exhausting trip (that included spelunking, white water rafting and rapelling) to West Virginia that I realized how much I love working with junior high aged kids.

Man, what a place of growth for me. Sometimes events will happen so quickly (as it was a three month trip), that one doesn't dwell enough on it to realize how much has been learned. I'm thankful to see the Burgesses again and be reminded of that life-changing summer!